Public Art Projects

Recognized for his folksy outsider aesthetic, Brooklyn native Steven Cogle has shared his talents on public spaces for the past few years at the Welling Court Mural Project.  I recently met up with him.

steve-cogle-and-al-ortiz-street-art-welling-court

When did you first begin drawing?

I was five or six when I started drawing cartoons.

Any inspirations back then?

I was a big fan of Charles Schultz.’s Peanuts comic strip, and I also loved Bugs Bunny.

Steve-cogle-artwork-close-up

Did your family have any response to your early drawings? Did they encourage you?

Not really! But my classmates did. I was always drawing characters for them.

What about your teachers?

I took an art class when I was a student at George Gershwin Junior High School in East New York.  I couldn’t say, though, that my teacher encouraged me.  But when I discovered Lee J. Ames’ How to Draw books in the library, I used them to teach myself how to draw.

Did you go on to study art in a formal setting?

No. I’m self-taught.

Steve-Cogle-outsider-art

How would you describe your particular aesthetic? It’s been referred to as Neo-Expressionism.

My artwork reflects me – tribal Africa crossed with urban blight. Growing up in East New York, I witnessed a lot of tragedy and loss, along with hope and survival. As I layer the painting on the canvas, I am also layering the experiences that I saw.

Have any specific artists influenced you?

Eric Orr became a mentor to me, and explained the business side of art to me.  And I was influenced by Picasso’s versatility, Basquiat’s palette and Clemente’s spirituality. 

steve-dogle-and-art-work

What about galleries? When did you first show your work in a gallery setting?

In 2004 my work made its way into two Brooklyn spaces and into an exhibit at the Chelsea Center for the Arts in Manhattan. I’ve since exhibited in several galleries in Brooklyn and in Manhattan, and my work is in collections across the globe. My dream is to see my work in a museum setting.

I first discovered your artwork in Astoria, Queens, where you painted with the Welling Court Mural Project. This year, in fact, you collaborated with Al Diaz.  You don’t generally paint in public spaces. What brought you to Welling Court?

I’m fond of Garrison Buxton, the project’s organizer, and I love the make-up of the neighborhood. I’ve painted there for the past four years.

Steve-cogle-welling-court-mural-art-nyc

Have you any favorite artists among those active on our streets?

I like the way Chris RWK and Joe Iurato bring me back to my childhood. And there are several Staten-Island based artists I especially like: ErinKelli, John Exit and Kwue Molly.

What’s ahead? 

I’ve been working on a film to be released in 2017. It tells my story, while showcasing a range of creative artists. I plan to move to Italy by the end of this summer, and I wanted to document my life here. And, of course, more painting is ahead.

Steve-Cogle-art

Why the move? 

It’s time for a change!

Yes, change is good! Good luck with it all! 

Photo credits: 1 Lidia Santana; 3, 4-6 courtesy of the artist; 2 Lois Stavsky; interview conducted and edited by Lois Stavsky

{ 0 comments }

astro-mural-street-art-harlem-nyc

Not A Crime‘s summer-long street art campaign for education equality continues to enhance the streets of Harlem. Featured above is Paris-based Astro’s first mural in NYC.  Here are several more that have surfaced since the spring:

Chilean artist Cekis, close-up

cekis-street-art-mural-harlem-NYC

South African artist Ricky Lee Gordon

Ricky-Lee-Gordon-mural-art-street-art-Harlem-NYC

 Australian artist Rone, close-up of Nasim Biglari

Rone-mural-art-harlem-not-a-crime-nyc

Brazilian artist Alexandre Keto, close-up

Alexandre-Keto=mural-art-harlem-nyc

 Harlem’s legendary Franco the Great

franco-the-great-mural-harlem-nyc

 South Carolina – based Patch Whisky at work

patch-whisky-paintss-street-art-Harlem-nyc

Close-up from Patch Whisky‘s completed mural

patch-whisky-mural-art-nyc

Brooklyn-based Elle at work

elle-paints-in-Harlem

Close-up from Elles completed mural

elle-street-art-harlem

An expansion of last year’s NYC-based mural campaign covering four boroughs and New Jersey, the #NotACrime Street Art Campaign for Education Equality is curated by Street Art Anarchy.  Now in its second year, the #NotACrime campaign was founded by Maziar Bahari to expose Iran’s human rights violations.

Note: Keep posted to our Facebook page for additional murals from Not A Crime‘s street art campaign for education equality by Erik Burke, Tats CruCol Wallnuts and more. You can also check out videos of artists at work and more on the Education Is Not a Crime Facebook page.

Education-Is-Not-a-Crime

Photo credits: 1, 4 – 6 & 8 Tara Murray; 2, 3 & 10 Lois Stavsky; 9 & 7 bytegirl

Hailed in a range of media from the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.

en-play-badge 2

{ 0 comments }

art-is-trash-kimmel-windows

The windows of NYU’s Kimmel Center are now home to a wide range of street art and graffiti artworks. Presented in partnership with 3rd Culture Creative, a cutting-edge media development company, ART STREET 13 WINDOWS 1 WALL showcases the distinct aesthetic of 15 artists whose works have surfaced on our streets. I recently had the opportunity to speak to its principal curator Pamela Jean Tinnen — who for the past five years has curated New York University’s Kimmel Galleries.

gilf-cruz-cope-indie-graffiti-kimmel-windows

I’m always delighted when universities embrace street art. Can you tell us something about how this project came to be? What might have prompted it?

Yes! Awhile back I went on a street art tour of the Bushwick Collective, conducted by one of my colleagues, Izzy Church. I loved what I saw, and I soon began researching street art. An exhibit featuring street art became a passion project of mine, and the Kimmel Windows Gallery seemed like the ideal site to showcase public art, particularly during the summer months.

Ron-English-nyu-kimmel-windows

Exhibiting works by street artists and graffiti writers in a public space – that can be seen by everyone — is certainly a cool notion! Are there any other particular concepts underlying this exhibit?

Yes. Placing works of street art behind a glass wall also hints at the monetary value of the artworks by those street artists who have achieved mainstream success.

Cost-and-Enx-NYU windows

How did you and your co-curators — Izzy Church and Marten Kale —  decide which artists to include?

We reached out to our favorite artists, and several of the other artists reached out to us.

Did you encounter any unanticipated challenges in seeing it through?

The unconventional nature of the artworks demanded careful attention to their placement in this particular setting.

richard-hambleton-kimmel

I think it looks great! Each window is engaging. How has the response to it been?

The response has been wonderful. I’ve received so many positive messages, particularly from my colleagues.

Until when will it remain on view?

 It has been extended through September 12th.  And during these next few weeks, be prepared for some surprises as we make some changes in the windows! A closing event will be held on Saturday, September 10th from 7:30 – 10pm in the Grand Hall at NYU Global Center, 238 Thompson Street, 5th Floor. There will be art, music and a cash bar.

It all sounds great! 

Kimmel

Images

1. Francisco de Pájaro aka  Art Is Trash

2. Gilf!, Iena Cruz and Cope2 with Indie

3. Ron English

4. Cost and Enx

5. Richard Hambleton

Located on Laguardia and West 3rd St, Kimmel Windows also features: John Fekner, ASVP, Lady Pink, Jonathan “Meres” Cohen, Fumero, Raquel Echanique, Federico Massa a.k.a. Iena Cruz, B.D. White, Joe Iurato, Martian Code and Skewville.

Photo credits: 1-4 Lois Stavsky; 5 courtesy Woodward Gallery; interview by Lois Stavsky

{ 0 comments }

lady-k-fever-at-marcus-garvey

Lady K Fever has been feverishly busy! Along with creating and installing All Along the Watchtower, an interactive public art installation at Marcus Garvey Park, she was also at work curating Inside Out, a group exhibit at the nearby Heath Gallery, to coincide with her installation.  This past Sunday, I had the opportunity to visit both the installation and the exhibit.

Lady-K-Fever-installation

Another segment of the Marcus Garvey Park installation — at night

Lady-K-Installation-at-night

And at the Heath Gallery — Lady K Fever, Mystery

Lady-K-Mystery-Heath-gallery

Jenevieve, Two Views

Jenevieve-Two-Views

Natalie Collette Wood, Eliptical Star

Natalie-Collette-Wood=Eliptical-Star

Marthalicia, Aquatic Boy

marthalicia-heath-gallery

Shame 125, Admiring

shame-graffiti-on-canvas

Bio,Tats Cru, Let the Games Begin

bio-tats-cru-let-the-games-begin

And “the crew” outside Heath Gallery

heath gallery-artists

The exhibit at Heath Gallery can be seen this weekend: Saturday from 12-6pm and Sunday 12-5pm. All Along the Watchtower remains on view through the end of this month. And for a guided walk of it, you can meet up with Lady K FeverSuprina and the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance members at the nearby Chéri Restaurant, 231 Lenox Avenue, between 6-7pm on Friday evening.

All Along the Watchtower is sponsored by the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance Public Art Initiative with funding provided in part by the Harlem Community Development Corporation. 

 Photos: 1-3 & 10 courtesy Lady K Fever; 4-9 Lois Stavsky

Note: Hailed in a range of media from the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.

en-play-badge 2

{ 0 comments }

felipe-pantone-mural-art-montrealjpg

Pictured above is Argentine artist Felipe Pantone, painted for this year’s Mural Festival. Here are several more murals we captured on our visit to Montreal last week:

UK-based D*Face, 2016

dface-mural-montreal

Montreal-based Xavier Raymond aka X-Ray, 2016

X-Ray-mural-art-montreal

Australian artist Reka, 2013

Reka-close-up-mural-montreal

Toronto native Troy Lovegates aka Other, 2013

troy-lovegates-mural-art-montreal

Tel Aviv-based Klone, 2016

klone-mural-montreal-mural-festival

Belgian artist Roa, 2013

Roa-mural-art-montreal

Note: LOST PARADISE, a solo exhibit featuring the work of Xavier Raymond aka X-Ray will be on display at Montreal’s Station 16 Gallery from August 18th to September 10th.

X-Ray-lost-pariadise-station-16

Photo credits: 1, 6 & 7  Tara Murray; 2-5 Lois Stavsky

Hailed in a range of media from the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.

en-play-badge 2

{ 0 comments }

five8-street-art-Montreal

Since 2013, Montreal has been hosting MURAL, an annual public art festival featuring a wonderful array of murals by both local and international artists. Here is a small sampling of what we saw while wandering on and off Boulevard Saint-Laurent this past week:

Montreal-based Five Eight, 2016

Five8-street-art-mural-Montreal

Melbourne-based Meggs, 2016

Meggs-mural-montreal

NYC-based Buff Monster, 2016

buff-monster-mural-festival-montreal

Brazilian collective Acidum Project, close-up, 2016

acidum-mural-close-up-montreal

Chilean artist Inti, 2014

inti-mural-art-montreal

France native Mateo, 2016

mateo-mural-art-montreal

Photo credits: 1-3, Lois Stavsky; 4, 5 & 7 Tara Murray and 6 Sara C Mozeson

Hailed in a range of media from the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.

en-play-badge 2

{ 0 comments }

All-City Express, a hugely impressive interactive art exhibitionmade its world premiere last weekend at Randall’s Island’s Panorama. Under the curatorial direction of 5Pointz Creates leaders Meres One and Marie Flageul, Lady Pink, Tkid 170Toofly, Meres One, Jerms, Topaz, and See tf painted live, covering digital subway cars with original artwork. Fusing graffiti’s underground roots with innovative video technology, the project was developed by Brooklyn-based AST Studios with Tangible Interaction. Here are a few images captured in the course of this three-day cutting-edge homage to traditional graffiti art.

Five of the 5Pointz Creates crew with Marie Flageul in foreground — on green screen

5pointz-creates-with-marie

Lady Pink and Toofly at work on green screen

lady-pink-and-toofly-graffiti

And with completed piece as viewed on virtual subway train

lady-Pink-and-Toofly-graffiti-production

See tf and Python with completed piece on green screen

see-tf-and-python

Jerms and Topaz  as a mix of technologies brings them at work onto a NYC train in real time

Jerms=-graffiti-projection

T-Kid with completed piece on green screen

T-Kid-graffiti

And as viewed on virtual train

T-Kid-Randalls

Meres One at work on green screen

meres-paints-graffiti

Digital tagging by AST Studios; graffiti software by Tangible Interaction & advanced motion capture by PhaseSpace

5-pointz-tags

And the trains roll by throughout NYC with AST Studios‘ life-like visual effects and editorial content by Possible Productions

graffiti-trains

Photo credits: 1, 3-10 Nic Lyte and 2 Rachel Fawn; videos produced by AST Studios

Note: This blog will be on vacation through Sunday, August 7. You can follow us on Facebook and on Instagram.

Hailed in a range of media from the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.

en-play-badge 2

{ 1 comment }

ApostropheNYC-art-exhibit-subway-platform-NYC

Earlier this year we met up with the wonderfully talented and intrepid Apostrophe founders and curators — Sei and Ki Smith. Since, they’ve successfully hosted guerrilla pop-ups at The Whitney Museum  of American Art — from which they’ve been banned for life — and at MoMA PS1. This past Friday we attended Apostrophe‘s  Base 12 Subway Show, a pop-up exhibit at the Kosciuszko Street stop on the J Line featuring works from Apostrophe‘s 12 artists. And what fun it was!

Kolter

kolter-art-apostrophenyc-nyc

The Love Child

the-love-child-art-apostrphenyc

Julia Powers

Julia-powers-art-apostrophe-nyc

James Reyes

James-Reyes-art-apostrophenyc-nyc

Sei Smith, curator and recently featured, along with his brother, in Time Out New York’s 10 NYC artists 35 and under you should know

sei-smith-art-apostrophenyc-nyc

Morell Cutler and artwork by James Rubio on right

Morell-Cutler-and-James-Rubio-art-Apostrophenyc-subway-station-nyc

Alana Dee Haynes

alana-dee-Haynes-art-apostrophenyc-subway-platform-nyc

And healthy non-alcoholic beverage — provided by Costa Brava — served at artists’ reception on subway platform!

apostrophe-nyc-reception

Apostrophe‘s Base 12 Project will continue throughout the year with three pop-ups in city parks, three in European galleries, one more museum pop up and then finally a project retrospective at Mana Contemporary that will exhibit all 144 paintings from the 12 pop-ups.

Photo credits: 1-7 Lois Stavsky; 8 & 9 Tara Murray; additional photos on the Street Art NYC Instagram

Note: Hailed in a range of media from the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.

en-play-badge 2

{ 0 comments }

JR-Ellis-Island-street-art-tribeca-NYC_edited-1

DDG’s 100 Franklin Street in Tribeca is now the site of a new massive mural by JR, the internationally acclaimed Parisian artist. The image is an enlargement of a photo that was originally taken in Ellis Island in 1908 and was featured in JR,’s Unframed — Ellis Island exhibit.

Installation in progress

jr-action-tribeca-street-art-nyc

With assistant Joshua B. Geyer taking command

Josh-Geyer-assists-JR-street-art-Tribeca-nyc

The completed installation, as seen this past weekend

JR-tribeca-street-art-ellis-island-nyc_edited-1

This same wall was the site of JR’s 100-foot ballerina, one of our favorite street art pieces of 2015. The following video by Jesse Whiles documents its transition:

We especially appreciate the new mural  — and its reminder that we are a nation of immigrants — at a time when so many are seeking refuge from catastrophic events throughout the globe.

Photo credits: 1 Courtesy DDG; 2-4 Tara Murray

Hailed in a range of media from the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.

en-play-badge 2

{ 0 comments }

gera-luz-essex-street-market-mural-nyc

Few Lower East Side spots are as tantalizing as the Essex Street Market. With its rich array of delicacies, it’s been one of our favorite haunts for years. And now with Gera Lozano‘s artwork gracing both its exterior and interior, it’s even more inviting!  I recently met up with Lauren Margolis of the Lower East Side Partnership who gave me a bit of an update.

We love the the Essex Street Market‘s new look! What inspired the makeover?

With the development of the nearby Essex Crossing, the Essex Street Market was experiencing less foot traffic. Many people, in fact, didn’t realize that the Market was still open and functioning. We wanted to boost its visibility.

gera-luz-abstract-mural-art-nyc

You certainly seem to have accomplished that! We street art aficionados were introduced to Gera Lozano‘s aesthetic largely through the murals she has painted with WERC in Brooklyn and Queens.  We are delighted to see her work surface here. How did you decide which artist to commission for this project?

Natalie Raben, who oversaw the 100 GATES Project, was familiar with Gera’s work, and suggested that we bring her abroad for this project. And Gera was quite excited about this project when we approached her.

gera-luz-exterior-essex-street-market-nyc_edited-1

What about the design? How was that decided? What considerations went into it?

We were seeking an attractive, eye-catching design that represents the range of vendors at the Essex Street Market.

gera-luz-interior-design-essex-street-market-nyc

How have folks reacted to this transformation?

They love it. The response has been so positive. People have been commenting on it, posing in front of it and posting images it on Instagram!

gera-luz-mural-essex-street-Market

What’s ahead for the Essex Street Market?

In 2018, it will be moving into the ground floor of Essex Crossing. All of the existing vendors will have a new home, and there will be space for additional vendors. Delancey Street Associates, the developer of Essex Crossing, will cover the cost of the move.

I’m glad we have Gera’s artwork in the meantime! And we look forward to seeing the art that is certain to surface there!

Note: The Essex Street Market is open Monday through Saturday, 8:00am to 7:00pm, Sunday 10:00am to 6:00pm. The Market also houses Cuchifritos Gallery + Project Space that is open Tuesday – Sunday from 12-6pm.

Photo credits: 1 & 5 Tara Murray; 2-4 Lois Stavskyinterview with Lauren Margolis conducted and edited by Lois Stavsky

Hailed in a range of media from the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.

en-play-badge 2

{ 0 comments }